Samsung Galaxy S8 Active vs Samsung Galaxy A21 Specs Comparison

Compare mobile phone specifications of up to three devices at once. Our specs comparison tool helps you find and compare the perfect phone for your needs.

9.0
Samsung Galaxy S8 Active
Samsung Galaxy S8 Active Samsung Galaxy A21
Released · Aug 11, 2017
Released · Jun 29, 2020
5.8-inch · 2960x1440px
6.5-inch · 1600x720px
Single camera
Quad camera
4GB · 64GB
3GB · 32GB
4000 mAh
4000 mAh

Design

Dimensions
5.99 x 2.95 x 0.39 inches
152.1 x 74.9 x 9.9 mm
6.61 x 3.02 x 0.32 inches
167.8 x 76.7 x 8.1 mm
Weight
7.34 oz (208.0 g) 6.81 oz (193.0 g)
Materials
Back: Plastic
Frame: Plastic
Resistance
Water, Dust, Shock, Vibration, Temperature; IP68; MIL-STD-810 certified
Biometrics
Iris scanner, 2D Face unlock, Fingerprint (touch) Fingerprint (touch)
Keys
Left: Volume control, Other; Right: Lock/Unlock key Right: Volume control, Lock/Unlock key
Colors
Gold, Gray Black

Display

Size
5.8-inch 6.5-inch
Resolution
2960x1440px, 18.5:9 ratio, 568 PPI 1600x720px, 20:9 ratio, 270 PPI
Technology
Super AMOLED IPS LCD
Refresh rate
60Hz
Screen-to-body
74.89 % 79.20 %
Features
HDR support, Scratch-resistant glass (Corning Gorilla Glass 5), Ambient light sensor, Proximity sensor Ambient light sensor, Proximity sensor

Hardware

System chip
Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 MSM8998 (10 nm) Mediatek Helio P35 MT6765 (12 nm)
Processor
Octa-core
2350 MHz
Kryo 280
Octa-core
4x 2.3GHz Cortex-A53 + 4x 1.8GHz Cortex-A53
GPU
Adreno 540 PowerVR GE8320
RAM
4GB (LPDDR4) 3GB (LPDDR4)
Internal storage
64GB 32GB (eMMC 5.1), available to use: 19.8 GB
Storage expansion
microSDXC up to 256 GB microSDXC up to 512 GB
OS
Android (9.0 Pie, 8.0 Oreo, 7.0 Nougat), Samsung One UI Android (10), Samsung One UI

Battery

Capacity
4000 mAh 4000 mAh
Type
Li - Ion Li - Polymer
Charging
Qualcomm Quick Charge 2.0, Qi and Powermat wireless charging Fast charging
Charge speed
Wired: 15.0W

Camera

Rear
Single camera Quad camera
Main camera
12 MP (OIS, PDAF)
Aperture size: F1.7
Focal length: 26 mm
Sensor size: 1/2.55"
Pixel size: 1.4 μm
16 MP (PDAF)
Aperture size: F1.8
Sensor size: 1/3.06"
Pixel size: 1 μm
Second camera
8 MP (Ultra-wide)
Aperture size: F2.2
Sensor size: 1/4"
Pixel size: 1.12 μm
Third camera
2 MP (Macro)
Aperture size: F2.4
Fourth camera
2 MP (Depth information)
Aperture size: F2.4
Flash
LED LED
Video recording
3840x2160 (4K UHD) (30 fps), 2560x1440 (QHD), 1920x1080 (Full HD) (60 fps), 1280x720 (HD) (240 fps)
HDR, Time-lapse video, Hyperlapse, Continuous autofocus, Object tracking, Picture-taking during video recording, Video light, EIS, Video calling, Video sharing
1920x1080 (Full HD) (30 fps)
Front
8 MP (Wide Angle, Autofocus, HDR), Video capture: 2560x1440 (QHD) 13 MP, Video capture: 1920x1080 (Full HD)

Connectivity & Features

Bluetooth
5.1, Yes 5.0
WLAN
802.11 a,b,g,n,ac,dual-band,i
MIMO, Wi-Fi Direct, Hotspot
802.11 a,b,g,n,ac,dual-band
Wi-Fi Direct, Hotspot
USB
Type-C, USB 3.1 Type-C, USB 2.0
Hearing aid compatible
M4/T3 M4/T3
Location
GPS, A-GPS, Glonass, Galileo, Cell ID, Wi-Fi positioning GPS, A-GPS, Glonass, BeiDou, Cell ID, Wi-Fi positioning
Sensors
Accelerometer, Gyroscope, Compass, Hall (for flip covers), Barometer Accelerometer, Gyroscope, Compass
Other
NFC, ANT+, UMA (Wi-Fi Calling), Tethering, Computer sync, OTA sync NFC

Multimedia

Headphones
3.5mm jack 3.5mm jack
Speakers
Earpiece, Loudspeaker Earpiece, Loudspeaker
Features
Album art cover, Background playback
Screen mirroring
DLNA,Wireless screen share,MHL Wireless screen share
Radio
FM
Additional microphone(s)
Noise cancellation

Cellular

4G (FDD)
Bands 1(2100), 2(1900), 3(1800), 4(AWS-1), 5(850), 7(2600), 8(900), 12(700 a), 20(800 DD), 28(700 APT), 29(700 d), 30(2300 WCS) Bands 1(2100), 2(1900), 3(1800), 4(AWS-1), 5(850), 7(2600), 8(900), 12(700 a), 13(700 c), 17(700 b), 20(800 DD), 25(1900+), 26(850+), 28(700 APT), 66(AWS-3), 71(600)
4G (TDD)
Bands 38(2600), 39(1900+), 40(2300), 41(2600+) Bands 38(2600), 39(1900+), 40(2300), 41(2600+)
3G
Bands 5(850), 8(900), 4(1700/2100), 2(1900), 1(2100) Bands 1(2100), 2(1900), 4(1700/2100), 5(850), 8(900)
Data Speed
LTE-A Pro Cat 16 (1000/150 Mbit/s), HSDPA+ (4G) 42.2 Mbit/s, UMTS LTE-A Cat 6 (300/50 Mbit/s), HSDPA+ (4G) 42.2 Mbit/s, HSUPA 5.76 Mbit/s
SIM type
Nano SIM Nano SIM
HD Voice
Yes Yes

Regulatory Approval

FCC approval
Date approved: Jun 30, 2017
FCC ID value: A3LSMG892A
Date approved: Apr 17, 2020
FCC ID value: ZCASMA215U
Measured SAR
Head: 0.57 W/kg
Body: 0.37 W/kg
Simultaneous Transmission: 1.59 W/kg
Wireless Router: 0.44 W/kg
Phablet: 3.88 W/kg
Head: 0.42 W/kg
Body: 1.27 W/kg
Simultaneous Transmission: 1.27 W/kg
Wireless Router: 1.27 W/kg

Buyers information

MSRP
$ 850 $ 250
In The Box
This is the official Samsu​ng Galaxy A21 User Guide in English provided from the manufacturer.

Availability

Officially announced
Aug 07, 2017 Apr 08, 2020

Alternative variants

for Sprint
4G (FDD) Bands 3(1800), 4(AWS-1), 5(850), 7(2600), 8(900), 12(700 a), 18(800 Lower), 19(800 Upper), 20(800 DD), 25(1900+), 26(850+), 28(700 APT)
4G (TDD) Bands 41(2600+)
for Verizon
4G (FDD) Bands 1(2100), 2(1900), 3(1800), 5(850), 7(2600), 8(900), 20(800 DD), 28(700 APT)
4G (TDD) Bands 38(2600), 40(2300), 41(2600+)
3G Bands 5(850), 8(900), 2(1900), 1(2100)
for T-Mobile
4G (FDD) Bands 1(2100), 2(1900), 3(1800), 4(AWS-1), 5(850), 7(2600), 8(900), 12(700 a), 13(700 c), 18(800 Lower), 19(800 Upper), 20(800 DD), 25(1900+), 26(850+), 66(AWS-3), 71(600)
for Sprint
4G (FDD) Bands 2(1900), 3(1800), 4(AWS-1), 5(850), 7(2600), 12(700 a), 13(700 c), 25(1900+), 26(850+), 66(AWS-3), 71(600)
4G (TDD) Bands 41(2600+)
FCC OKs Cingular\'s purchase of AT&T Wireless